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By Russ Crawford and the Ada Icon

On May 4-5, the International Women’s Flag Football Association, Ada’s Wilson football factory, and the Inn at ONU, hosted a women’s and girls flag football tournament at Ohio Northern’s Dial-Roberson Stadium.

The Glacier Girls team won the women’s division, while the Bulldog girls of Ada won the youth division.

The opportunity to hold a tournament in Ada developed when IWFFA President Diane Beruldsen guest-lectured in Professor Russ Crawford’s Women’s Sport History class. ONU Athletic Director Tom Simmons, Assistant AD Kourtney Wilson, and Andy Wentling, Plant Manager of the Wilson Sporting Goods football factory agreed this would be a great idea. Wentling provided footballs and ONU provided the venue. The Inn at ONU gave discount rates for "Loose Women" players who came to the tournament without a team affiliation.

Event sponsors included Viva Maria’s, El Campo, Padrone’s, Roundy’s Pies, and Tavern 101.

Beruldsen would like to make this an annual Ohio tournament, so stay tuned for updates.

Other 2024 IWFFA events are the 32nd Kelly McGillis Classic in Key West, Florida; 1st Pakistan Karachi tournament, 1st New Zealand Friendship Games, he 2nd Honduras tournament, 1st Canada tournament, 7th El Salvador tournament, 2nd Boston tournament, he 3rd Morocco tournament, 2nd Sweden tournament, 3rd Mexico tournament, 18th Provincetown Classic and 8th Guatemala tournament.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

On Saturday, three teams – two made up of ONU students, and a “Loose Women” pickup team – competed for the title of champion of the first IWFFA tournament to be held at a U.S. university.

On the strength of two touchdowns by Chloe Gibson, and another by Naje Wright – on a pick six, the Glacier Girls defeated the Polar Bears 20-0 in the first game. The Glacier Girls made it two wins in a row by defeating the Loose Women Team by an identical score of 20-0 in the second game. 

Jill Newlan scored once, as did Stacey Legg, and Wright added the final score. Newlan and Wright joined the Loose Women Team for the day’s finale, and helped them to an 18-0 victory. Newlan scored all three touchdowns for the Loose Women Team.

On Sunday, the day began with a match between 4th and 5th grade girl’s teams from Ada and Maplewood Intermediate School in Lima. The Bulldogs defeated the Indians by 14-6. 

J’ayanna Johnson and Lauren Ludwig scored for Ada, and Annie Ludwig (Ada loaned a player to Maplewood) scored for the Indians. Maplewood was driving in Ada territory when time ran out.

In the final game of the tournament, a combined team including women from the Bulldogs, Loose Women, and five Ada girls, fell to the champion Glacier Girls, 20-6. 

Leading the way for the winners were Legg and Newlan. Legg scored twice and added a 2-point conversion, and Newlan crossed the goal line once. The lone score that the Glacier Girls gave up was a touchdown by the Bulldog’s Emersyn Lee.

ONU students Gabe Hensley and Tyler Tierno coached the champion Glacier Girls, Joe Bruno and Mason Schmoekel coached the Polar Bears, and IWFFA President Diane Beruldsen (with help from Hensley and Tierno) coached the Loose Women. Marisa Savini coached the Ada team, and Beruldsen coached Maplewood.

It was truly an international tournament. Players Kenia Garcia and Ivonne Flores originally came from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Sophie Crawford is a native of France.

Students from the Polar Bear Football Team ran the chains, along with Caroline Kelley. Scotty Preston refereed on Saturday, and Caleb Fisher and Dino Colasurd handled the officiating on Sunday. Ruth Lim of the Pharmacy Outreach chair for the American Pharmacy Association provided water and peanuts on Saturday. She also provided an article on proper hydration for the tournament program. Crawford, Colasurd, and Pablo Frontera-Mendez provided the play-by-play announcing. Frontera-Mendez provided the Spanish commentary.